(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fumigation determination apparatus and method for determining whether or not fumigation is permitted, and a computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to carry out functions of the apparatus, and more particularly to a fumigation determination apparatus and method for determining whether or not fumigation is permitted within a facility where fumigation work is carried out by using a fumigant gas, and a computer-readable storage medium storing a program for causing a computer to carry out functions of the apparatus.
(2) Description of the Related Art
In a facility, such as a museum, where various materials are exhibited, antisepsis operation by using a fumigant gas (hereinafter referred to as xe2x80x9cfumigationxe2x80x9d) is regularly carried out to exterminate pests or bugs from the exhibited materials.
The materials stored in the museum include non-living things, such as antiques, ancient legacies, books, paintings, and stuffed animals, and living things, such as animals and plants, with diverse kinds and variations among them. Further, there are also many kinds of fumigant gases, whose effects and influences are diverse as well. Information of the kinds, names, and exhibition places of materials exhibited in a museum or the like is managed by a database or the like owned by the museum. Conventionally, a person in charge of the fumigation in such a museum or the like determines whether or not the fumigation is permitted by consulting the database or the like.
Conventionally, however, whether the fumigation is permitted or not has been determined based on a manual operation by the person in charge, and hence it is an inconvenient and very difficult operation to carry out the determination. This problem comes to be considered critical in recent museums in which the number of exhibits as well as the number of living things which cannot be subjected to fumigation are markedly increasing.
It is an object of the invention to provide a fumigation determination apparatus which facilitates determination of whether or not fumigation of exhibits is permitted.
Further, another object of the invention is to provide a fumigation determination method which facilitates determination of whether or not fumigation of exhibits is permitted.
Further, to attain the above object, the present invention provides a fumigation determination apparatus for determining whether or not fumigation is permitted. This fumigation determination apparatus comprises shielded block table input means for inputting a shielded block table defining shielded blocks which are shielded spaces, fumigation type table input means for inputting a fumigation type table defining fumigation types indicative of types of fumigant gases, fumigation condition information input means for inputting fumigation condition information indicative of conditions for the fumigation, fumigation schedule table-producing means for producing a fumigation schedule table showing a fumigation schedule, by using the shielded block table input by the shielded block table input means, the fumigation type table input by the fumigation type table input means, and the fumigation condition information input by the fumigation condition information input means, fumigation suitability management information-producing means for producing fumigation suitability management information by adding fumigation suitability information indicative of whether or not the fumigation is permitted to exhibit management information for managing exhibits, fumigation suitability determination means for determining whether or not the fumigation is permitted by using the fumigation schedule table and the fumigation suitability management information, and determination result output means for outputting results of the determination made by the fumigation suitability determination means.
Still further, to attain the other object described above, the present invention provides a fumigation determination method of determining fumigation suitability. This fumigation determination method comprises the steps of inputting a shielded block table defining shielded blocks which are shielded spaces, inputting a fumigation type table defining fumigation types indicative of types of fumigant gases, inputting fumigation condition information indicative of conditions for the fumigation, producing a fumigation schedule table showing a fumigation schedule, by using the shielded block table, the fumigation type table, and the fumigation condition information, producing fumigation suitability management information by adding fumigation suitability information indicative of whether or not the fumigation is permitted to exhibit management information for managing exhibits, determining whether not the fumigation is permitted, by using the fumigation schedule table and the fumigation suitability management information, and outputting results of the determination as to whether or not the fumigation is permitted.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the present invention by way of example.